F1 star gets civilian driver’s license after 3 yrs as a pro

An 18-year-old Formula 1 driver is now legally allowed to drive on city streets despite being a professional race-car driver since he was 15.

Italy’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli has made a historic rise through the ranks of international racing but seemingly never found time to legally drive himself around.

On Tuesday, however, F1 officially announced Antonelli was street legal by way of passing his driving test.

“Kimi Antonelli passed his road driving test this week,” the promotion wrote on X. “He’s already driven an F1 car at speeds of over 300 KM/H.”

Antonelli was seen giving a thumbs up from his car with the caption, “Driving test: Passed!”

There was a lot of chatter over Antonelli getting his license from the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile last year. The minimum age for the FIA Super License is 17, and it is always news when the age requirement needs to be enforced for a young driver.

The license is required for driving in Formula 1 competitions, and drivers must perform well in different championships for several years in order to be eligible.

The license also comes with a hefty price to renew each year.

According to Autosport, the license is believed to have a base fee of €10,400 (~$10,834) with an additional charge of €2,100 (~$2,180) for every point a driver scored in the last season.

Based on 2023 F1 world champion Max Verstappen’s 575 points, that would be a licensing fee of €1,217,900 (~$1,268,000). However, the fee would be paid by his team.

The driver has said he doesn’t think it’s right to have such a high cost.

“It’s not the case in other sports either, and there are more and more races,” Verstappen argued.

Lewis Hamilton, who Antonelli is replacing, had a reported €501,800 (~$522,000) fee for 2024.

Antonelli at the Formula 2 Championship at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images

According to his official F1 bio, Antonelli made his racing debut at 15 years old and quickly took home a flurry of trophies. He was so successful at the F4 level that his bosses at Mercedes skipped him over F3 competitions directly to F2.

After some initial struggles, Antonelli had several breakthrough victories and then, shortly following his 18th birthday, Mercedes announced that he would be called up to the F1 team for 2025 to replace legendary driver Hamilton.

Hamilton had recently stated he would be leaving Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025, opening up a spot for the young Italian.

In order to get his F1 license, Antonelli had to make sure he had a valid driving license, along with other prerequisites like passing a theory test on codes and regulations.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!